{ "item_title" : "Building 903", "item_author" : [" Lois Lowry "], "item_description" : "In the tradition of her bestselling, award-winning phenomenon, The Giver, Lois Lowry delivers a story about censorship, comfort, complicity, and the radical power of books to open portals and unlock our humanity through our most powerful tool: the imagination.Twins Tessa and Theo live in a world ruled by a tyrannical leader, where there are no dangers or rebels... or so they've been told. In this world, citizens live long lives, and while many hate their leader, they are comfortable and safe. So, when Tessa's brother disappears, nobody wants to discuss it. But then Miriam, their 135-year-old neighbor bound for the retirement community, slips Tessa a key--not only to her brother's disappearance, but to the source of all real magic . . . books. As Tessa and her parents begin their search for Theo, Tessa learns that books not only tell us stories--they open portals and unlock our humanity through our most powerful tool: the imagination. Once that truth has been revealed, Tessa won't be able to rest until she has retrieved her twin and society itself has been transformed.Two-time Newbery-winner Lois Lowry has crafted a narrative that feels at once prescient and eternal: in this world, the imagination is the revolution. Not only does Building 903 sit in the same resonant space as The Giver Quartet, but it is also a profound addition to Lois's enduring body of work--and a testament to the strength and value of her voice, vision, and legacy.", "item_img_path" : "https://covers2.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/0/06/351/510/0063515105_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "19.99", "online_price" : "16.59", "our_price" : "16.59", "club_price" : "16.59", "savings_pct" : "17", "savings_amt" : "3.40", "club_savings_pct" : "17", "club_savings_amt" : "3.40", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "19.99" } }

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There’s a good chance one of the first dystopian novels you encountered was Lois Lowry’s The Giver, winner of the 1994 Newbery Medal. In a letter introducing Building 903, Lowry reflects on the primary theme that has driven her work: “the importance of human narrative. Again and again I’ve talked about the stories that make up our lives, and the value—the necessity, the risk, the joy—of telling them to one another.”

Stories are at the heart of Building 903, set in 2099, when an authoritarian ruler has abolished much of what gives us joy and meaning: art, churches, playgrounds and, of course, books. In 14-year-old Tessa’s town, confiscated titles are housed in a giant warehouse: Building 903.

As the story opens, Tessa’s world is in upheaval. Her twin brother, Theo, has mysteriously disappeared. Their next-door neighbor, Miriam Allinson, is about to be removed to ElderCare, but before departing, she gives Tessa a key to a hidden compartment in her closet in which Tessa discovers books, among other items of memorabilia. Lowry is masterful at using small details to illustrate the rules that govern Tessa’s life under the regime. But she rightly keeps her lens tightly focused on Tessa and her family. Lowry is also adept at slowly meting out clues to Theo’s disappearance, both to the reader and the characters.

Lois Lowry is a consummate storyteller, and she keeps the tension and suspense high as Tessa fights to save her brother. For not only is Theo in danger inside the story, but the book itself is in Building 903—and is scheduled for destruction in just two days. While some of the later plot developments are slightly less compelling, Building 903 is a celebration of family, human connections and the enduring power of imagination by one of the most thought-provoking authors of our time